Hy Averback

Set in an emergency medical camp, the sitcom M&#42;A&#42;S&#42;H was based on Robert Altman's 1970 movie of the same name, which notionally took place during the Korean War but was implicitly a bleak commentary on the US involvement in Vietnam. First aired in 1972, the series is broader and less edgy than the film, taking the original characters and reducing them for stock comic value. Nonetheless, the sense of hip insolence is preserved in Alan Alda's carousing, wisecracking but essentially decent Hawkeye--Groucho Marx in a surgeon's mask. The first series shows Hawkeye and buddy Trapper John (Wayne Rogers) dealing with the bloody and messy end of the war. Though not often explicitly critical of the conflict, their attitude towards the uptight, irascible Major Frank Burns (Larry Linville) and Loretta Swit's prim, buttoned-up nurse "Hotlips" Houlihan suggests a healthy contempt for military mores. Fortunately, their commander Henry Blake (McClean Stevenson) is an easy-going soul who indulges them and allows a genial atmosphere to flourish at the 4077th. The pilot--in which Hawkeye arranges a raffle where the prize is a night with a gorgeous nurse to raise money for a Korean kid to get to college--sums up the spirit of these early episodes: soft-centred liberalism mixed with somewhat dated sexism, albeit more slickly delivered than contemporary British sitcoms such as On the Buses. The skirt-chasing and buffoonery in this first series would give way to a more earnest tone as the show continued. On the DVD: M&#42;A&#42;S&#42;H is disappointingly short on special features. However, there is the option of removing the jarringly inappropriate intrusive laugh track that was used on US broadcasts of the show but not the UK version. These episodes have been comprehensively cleaned up for DVD consumption. --David Stubbs

All the episodes from the outstanding eleventh and final season of M*A*S*H! Episodes comprise: 1. Hey Look Me Over 2. Trick Or Treatment 3. Foreign Affairs 4. The Joker Is Wild 5. Who Knew? 6. Bombshells 7. Settling Debts 8. The Moon Is Not Blue 9. Run For The Money 10. U.N. The Night And The Music 11. Strange Bedfellows 12. Say No More 13. Friends And Enemies 14. Give And Take 15. As Time Goes By 16.Goodbye Farewell And Amen

TV detective fans rejoice: Peter Falk's rumpled and infallible Lt. Columbo joins the DVD precinct with a five-disc set that features the detective's first nine appearances for NBC. Though Falk as Columbo (no first name) made his TV debut in 1967, the detective had actually first appeared on an episode of the 1960-61 Chevy Mystery Show (Bert Freed played the role) written by veteran TV scribes Richard Levinson and William Link (The Fugitive, Alfred Hitchcock Presents). The pair turned the episode into a stage play titled Prescription: Murder, which was adapted into a TV movie in 1967 with Falk in the lead. NBC greenlit a two-hour Columbo pilot (Ransom for a Dead Man) in 1971, and the series was launched that fall as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie, a rotating 90-minute program that alternated Columbo with episodes of MacMillan and Wife and McCloud (another Levinson/Link creation). Viewers were quickly won over by Falk's shrewd performance as he matched wits with a host of exceptional guest stars (including Gene Barry, Patrick McGoohan, and others), all of whom assumed that the disheveled detective would never figure out their "perfect crimes"; the popularity and quality of the original series allows Falk to continue to don the trenchcoat some 30 years later for occasional Columbo TV movies. All seven 90-minute episodes of the 1971-72 debut season are included here, along with Prescription: Murder and Ransom for a Dead Man; unfortunately, as the lieutenant himself would say, "Oh, just one more thing"--no extras are included in the set, but having these fine TV mysteries in one set should be reward enough for armchair sleuths. --Paul Gaita

""Oh just one more thing..."" Peter Falk returns as Lt. Columbo for the complete second season which includes guest stars Robert Culp Valerie Harper Dean Stockwell Leonard Nimoy Martin Landau and Marc Singer and two episodes written by Stephen Boccho (Murder One). Expect plenty of cigar-chewing slouching and suspects being questioned about their shoes! Episodes comprise: 1. tude in Black 2. The Greenhouse Jungle 3. The Most Crucial Game 4. Dagger of the

In the spirit of James Garner's other famous small-screen character Bret Maverick Rockford is the kind of guy who'd rather avoid the fight and go fishing instead. An ex-con pardoned for an armed robbery he didn't commit Jim usually finds that the cases he takes on turn out to be must more serious than he first thought... Episodes Comprise: 1. Beamer's Last Case 2. Trouble in Chapter 3. The Battle of Canoga Park 4. Second Chance 5. The Dog and Pony Show 6. Requiem for a Funny Box 7. Quickie Nirvana 8. Irving the Explainer 9. The Mayor's Committee From Deer Lick Falls 10. Hotel of Fear 11. Forced Retirement 12. The Queen of Peru 13. A Deadly Maze 14. The Attractive Nuisance 15. The Gang at Don's Drive-In 16. The Paper Palace 17. Dwarf in a Helium Hat 18. South by Southeast 19. The Competitive Edge 20. The Prisoner of Rosemont Hall 21. The House on Willis Avenue (1) 22. The House on Willis Avenue (2)

Oh just one more thing... Peter Falk returns as Lt. Columbo for the complete second season which includes guest stars Robert Culp Valerie Harper Dean Stockwell Leonard Nimoy Martin Landau and Marc Singer and two episodes written by Stephen Boccho (Murder One). Expect plenty of cigar-chewing slouching and suspects being questioned about their shoes! Episodes comprise: 1. ''&#8240;tude in Black 2. The Greenhouse Jungle 3. The Most Crucial Game 4. Dagger of the Mind 5. Requiem for a Falling Star 6. A Stitch in Crime 7. The Most Dangerous Match 8. Double Shock

Korea 1950. They were a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit stationed three miles from the front. Incoming helicopters full of wounded brought the horrors of war to them daily and sometimes bullets flew right outside the operating room door. Hilarity and hijinks were all that kept them sane. Now journey back to that special place where friendships were forged laughter was found and drinks were served. Featuring all the episodes from the complete 11 seasons of M*A*S*H!

The first DVD compilation of its type this features an episode from each of three classic American television police shows. Each episode contains a special guest star; Ironside 'Tagged for Murder' with Bruce Lee Columbo 'A Stitch in Crime' with Leonard Nimoy and Kojak 'The Birthday Party' with none other than Richard Gere. COLUMBO: A STITCH IN CRIME Dr Barry Mayfield (Leonard Nimoy) is a brilliant young heart surgeon on the staff of a major Los Angeles Hospital. However he cannot accept that the hospital's senior heart specialist the revered Dr Edmund Hiedeman has invited a foreign specialist to help them with their work on a drug that will combat transplant rejection. Veteran Nurse Sharon Martin believes that Mayfield is a cold opportunist who would like to take all the credit for the research project. Even she doesn't know how far he will go to reach his goal. IRONSIDE: TAGGED FOR MURDER When George Bellingham is electrocuted in his own pool Detective Sgt Ed Brown refuses to accept the accidental death verdict and discusses his suspicions with Ironside. They track down a series of mysterious numbers on the dead mans watch which leads them to some former friends of Bellingham's including a retired general who tells the strange story of a robbery in the closing days of the war. With special guest star Bruce Lee. KOJAK: BIRTHDAY PARTY Kojak's young niece Ellena is kidnapped during her birthday picnic by an unidentified woman. The kidnappers call Kojak's office threatening the safety of the child unless one of their accomplices being held for the murder of a policeman is released immediately from the precinct house. A furious Kojak works against the clock to discover the identity of the kidnappers and save his niece. With special guest star Richard Gere.

The entire first series of investigations featuring Peter Falk's now classic depiction of crumpled trenchcoat-clad detective Columbo. Also contains the pilot movies Prescription: Murder and Ransom For A Dead Man. Episodes comprise: 1. Murder By The Book 2. Death Lends A Hand 3. Dead Weight 4. Suitable For Framing 5. Lady In Waiting 6. Short Fuse 7. Blueprint For Murder